Percy Jackson and the Anlace of Ananke
by Alphastylum
Summary: The rule of Olympus is in grave danger. A new prophecy has been issued. The troublesome guy meets the troublesome huntress once again, and with the help of a mouthy 10-year-old, together they embark on a grand quest to save the world. What else will they find along the way? Love? No way, right? Read and find out. Full-length explanation in the first chapter. Percy/Zoe
1. Prologue

**What is fate?**

People mostly say that it's the force that predetermines events and outcomes. You could say that it's half-correct.

Others call it a conspiracy. That's not entirely wrong either.

Disbelievers, on the other hand, say that it's just a bunch of 50% Minotaur.

I've seen Fate work in my life. I've witnessed everything fall into place all according to the results it expected. But even so, I can't help but agree with the disbelievers.

With good reason, of course. For us half-bloods, ever since we've learned about our godly heritage, we've been forced to study Ancient History, Greek Mythology, and everything else in between. Apparently fate is 'Fate' with a capital 'F'. You see, I've been dealing with big fat F's ever since I started elementary, and one thing I can tell you about them is that they're not something you'd want to encounter. Ever. The same rule goes in this case, except that it's more severe than just bad grades, and in a literal sense. It's like this everytime: In the very important part of our very impotant quest, everything goes horribly wrong. Somehow we'll manage to _barely_ pull through, almost dead, and the prophecy gets fullfilled like it's _all according to plan_. Like it didn't just jeopardize everyone's lives and the rule of Olympus. I would've punched the Fates if they weren't so scary.

_Calm down, dump the thought._ I hope the all-powerful daughers of Ananke didn't notice the malicious intent of a certain son of Poseidon. That would really not be good.

"Are you sure you got the right address, kid?" That must be my cue.

"Yeah. Here, keep the change."

The taxi driver was still skeptical about dropping a teenager off in the middle of nowhere, but all doubts were washed away when I paid the fare.

It was a good long walk off-road until I finally reached the trademark pine tree overlooking the hill. Winter break is over and I'm back here again: The place where dyslexic demigods like me with a serious case of ADHD gather, honing our skills until the time comes that we have to fight for our very lives — which, by the way, happens _way_ more often than we'd want to.

I felt a chill run down my spine as the cold winter breeze touch my skin. After inhaling the nostalgic scenery before me, I started to head for Camp Half-Blood.

"Home sweet home."

* * *

For my first work, this one is done pretty half-arsed. I'm sorry if it looked like it came out on a spur of the moment, because it did. Anyway, I'm not quite satisfied with the way I did my first chapter, but believe me when I say that you'll really come to enjoy this story. It's only the beginning. I've yet to accomplish anything spectacular, but I'm gonna be pouring my passion in every chapter that I write. If you appreciate my plot, I'll update as fast as I can without sacrificing quality (_my_ level of quality, anyway), so I hope you look forward to it.

Oh yeah, the part of the summary that I left out: This story is set in a parallel universe, taking place months after the Second Titanomachy, where Zoe didn't die and Annabeth is just a friend. Percy's Curse of Achilles had been removed for the sake of convenience.


	2. The Cold Stare of the Ice Princess

Upon arriving just a minute ago, I figured that I'd head to my cabin and settle my things first. From Thalia's Pine, I took a shortcut down the hills to the Volleyball courts, passing by the Arts & Crafts and crossing the creek before finally arriving at my place. I opened the door and immediately felt the familiar sea breeze brush past me. The cabin looked just like how I left it — dull, boring and cleaned by the harpies — much to my disappointment. I was half-hoping that I'd spot Tyson the moment I entered, and that the big guy would end my suffering then and there by hugging me to death.

Even though I managed to survive another day, it was kinda depressing.

I did a bit of thinking as I settled my luggage. The camp seemed eerily peaceful, it was starting to creep me out. The campers were behaving really well, too. No fights. No annoyances. No cursing in Ancient Greek. Nothing. It was a moment of peace and serenity.

"THEY'RE HERE AGAIN!"

I just jinxed that moment of peace and serenity.

* * *

Judging by the scowls the children of Ares are wearing, and the unbeliavable amount of noise the Aphrodite kids are making, I'd say that the Hunters of Artemis have arrived.

Like usual, as soon as the Hunters show up, there's gonna be a fight the moment Aphrodite's or Ares's kids spot them. It's happened so ridiculously often, it's almost like a tradition. Or maybe it is already a tradition. Fortunately, Chiron arrived just in time to intervene before things get worse, as always. Like I said, tradition.

"We have Capture the Flag for tonight. Campers, prepare your plans. Hunters, you might want to take a rest first. You've had a long journey, after all." Chiron's tone were so firm and final, nobody even argued anymore. Everyone obediently complied and the fighting stopped.

_For now, at least. But tonight..._

I managed to catch Zoe's eye as soon as she turned, and I almost wished I hadn't. Who would want to make eye contact with the biggest man-hater to have ever lived? If looks could kill, I don't think even immortality could save me. Her glare was so intense, I would've cried if I weren't used to it. Thankfully, she's been so generous in giving me death stares, I've already developed an immunity against it.

_Yeah. Nice to see you too, Zoë._

I was about to ask Hades a favor, but thankfully, I didn't have to. Thalia came just in time to save my soul from eternal damnation. She glanced at me and nodded, before herding Zoë and co. away from the campers.

Normally, Thalia's way of greeting would be really physical, such as hugging or punching me, depending on her mood. But nowadays, she seemed a little distant. Maybe it's because her gang of eternal maidens could punch silver holes in my body anytime if I tried anything funny, (by funny I meant not staying 15 meters away from Thalia, or any Hunter for that matter) so I understood.

Chiron hurried back to the Big House after everybody had calmed down. After all, a few hours from now they'll be allowed to maim each other as much as they like, as long as they don't get caught. Just thinking about what Zoe would do to me if given the opportunity...

_Give me Tartarus anyday._


	3. I am in for a Lot of Zoë

The campers managed to finish making preparations before sundown, so we used the remaining free time we had to re-discuss battle plans. As usual, the Athenians led the meeting, with Annabeth being the spokesperson. I was expecting a brilliant master plan that will finally hand us the victory, until...

"Percy, as usual, you'll lead the vanguard. But this time, entire Aphrodite Cabin goes with you."

Several jaws hung open. Surprised looks were exchanged. Makeup kits fell on the ground. Everyone was silenced in complete shock until 3... 2... 1...

_"WHAT!?"_

The Rec Room shook with noise. The cabins shouted protests, but none were a match to the Aphrodite kids, who were just plain_ furious_. I haven't seen them this angry since someone had the courage to say something negative about their looks, or disagree with their fashion tastes.

"Silence!" Annabeth yelled, banging her fists on the ping pong table. The look on her face was enough to send a subtle hint that the matter was not up for discussion. Even the daughters of love, who were shouting their lungs out until now, piped down like somebody forcefully shoved a hairbrush down their throat. Everyone stopped arguing at once.

Okay, everyone but me. I was still standing there, staring at Annabeth in pure astonishment with the words _'Did you just sell me out'_ clearly written in my face. I was so deep in surprise that I almost blurted out something about Annabeth finally having a sense of humor, which probably would've gotten me in an unpleasant situation. Fortunately, my ADHD didn't kick in.

Unfortunately, someone else's did.

"Wow Annabeth, never knew you had a sense of humor."

The voice held a familiarity that I know too well, and in a matter of seconds, everyone's head turned to the direction of the elder Stoll brother.

_You were a good comrade, Travis._

Apparently Connor had the same opinion, and was already bidding farewell to his brother who looked liked he'd finally realized the gravity of the situation he was in. I was expecting a brutal execution that would put even Kronos to shame but to the whole room's surprise, Annabeth merely shrugged it off. Now I've never really believed in miracles, but after witnessing one happen right before my eyes, you'd have to wonder if there are really supernatural beings out there. You know, other than your typical messed-up godly family who are always trying to get in each others' nerves.

But that topic is for another day entirely. Right now, I'm still trying to cope up with the fact that in a few hours from now, I will be in so much hurt that the no known word could describe my pain. Since we're going that far, I might as well name the word myself. _How does 'Zoë' sound?_

"Meeting adjourned," Annabeth said. "Prepare yourselves. Tonight's gonna be a bloodbath."

On that happy note, the strategy discussion is over, and the war had already begun.


	4. Operation Aphrodite

Now is the time. The moment we've all been anticipating since the untimely arrival of our sworn adversaries, an all-out war between the campers and the Hunters in the form of a competitive half-blood sport called 'Capture the Flag'.

Why tonight, we will make history as we mark the day of our 59th consecutive defeat against a bunch of eternally teenage girl scouts. Hurrah!

Some days I think it's better to just hand them the flag and get it over with. What would be the fun in that, you say? I don't know about you, but 'getting-my-face-curb-stomped-in-the-ground-along- with-my-pride-courtesy-of-man-hating-little-girls' is not my kind of fun.

"Percy, I _said_ 'to your positions'!" Annabeth's stern voice brought me back to the Hades I'm currently living in. "Can you please stop daydreaming already? We're in the middle of battle!"

_Easy for you to say, daughter of Athena. You're not the one who's fate was already decided the moment I agreed to this suicidal battle plan._

Muttering, I placed myself to my designated position; at the very front of the demigod army, leading the vanguard to the Hunters' flag, placed atop of Zeus's Fist — a tall rock formation which, on one angle, really looks like a fist. On other angles, however, it's just a pile of organic goat dung with a flagged toothpick on it. _Gross._

The conch horn blew, and all disgusting images immediately dispersed from my mind as I head out to the battlefield to fight the battle that could very well be my last. I was about to turn off all non-combat thoughts until I realized something.

Looking behind me, I have witnessed something so unbelievable, I completely lost the concentration I've been building. There they were: Aphrodite's children in full battle armor. Holding a hairbrush in one hand, and a makeup kit in the other. The poor choices of weapons would've made me laugh if not for the fact that they were dead serious. The expressions on their faces are ones I've never seen before — I mean, it's not everyday that you'd see someone with such a fierce look while trying to look beautiful at the same time. Once again, I would've died of laughter even if they didn't kill me for laughing. I recall Annabeth telling them to stay for 'a little longer' after the meeting so that they could 'discuss things' (which sounds more like 'dictation' than 'discussion' to me), but this is totally unexpected. Even if it is a little weird, it completely removed any doubt I had, and I decided that maybe I could entrust my back to these funny-yet-creepy people for this fight. Maybe we do have a chance to win after all.

There was no battle formation — Annabeth had told us to just run forward, and run forward we did. As soon as we crossed the creek, which acts as the divider of the two territories, we sprinted directly towards Zeus's Fist, where the enemy's flag is ours for the taking.

Several meters away from the boundary line, I already spotted the enemies' first line of defense: Young girls in their Hunter outfits atop tree branches or behind thick bushes, bracing themselves for our initial offensive strike. Bows drawn, they're about to decimate our attacking force with a volley of 'non-lethal' arrows — only according to them, by the way. In my opinon, the arrows are way more lethal than not. I should know, I've been on the receiving end way too much than I'd like to admit. And they're just way too many for us to dodge, the fight would end way too soon.

Just as all hope is lost, I heard a ferocious battle cry from behind me. At first I thought fighting really took its toll on these non-violent beautiful buddies, but nothing stops your train of thought like a volley of makeup kits and brushes aimed for the eternally chaste girls. You see, these phrases really don't mix very well, so you could say that it got pretty bloody. And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, as soon as an Aphrodite girl managed to get close enough, she _jumped — _by 'jump' I meant a very feminine tackle — on the poor little maiden. Soon enough, every Aphrodite girls have found their Hunter counterparts, and everyone's rolling around the forest, wrestling each other. And since this is Aphrodite we're talking about, they fought physically _and_ verbally.

"That was my favorite kit! I'll make you pay!"

"Are you an idiot?! Why did you even throw it in the first place?!"

"Did you just call me an idiot?! You are _so_ in for it, little girl!"

I wanted to say that the 'little girl' was probably 'a hundred times older than you', but I guess I'd leave that for her to find out. Checking behind me, seems like only the sons of Aphrodite are remaining. Armed with a comb and a hair gel bottle, these creeps won't let their sisters' sacrifices go in vain.

At least I _thought_ they won't. As soon as we reached the second line of defense, everyone behind me sprawled on the ground like they planned to do it right from the start. One dude even grabbed my leg dramatically like in the movies and said,

"Take this, — he handed the hair gel bottle he'd been holding all the time — you'll need it." and then he fainted.

The moment was incredibly corny and yet funny at the same time. I put the bottle in my pocket, partly as a token of the Aphrodite cabin's effort in helping me penetrate the enemies' defenses, and mostly because it actually kinda smelled good.

I arrived at Zeus's Fist shortly after that, and had a good look at my prize: The Hunters' flag, silver in color, stood proudly on top of the poop pile. As dignified as it may be, it still looked pretty hilarious to me. I was about to start climbing when I felt a chill run down my spine, and my body started to move on its own. I managed to duck in time to see an arrow bounce off the boulder, precisely at the point where my neck had been a second ago. The mark left by the arrowhead's impact on the boulder was enough to tell me that the shot was fired 20-30 meters behind. It's quite breezy tonight, so I guess there was an ample amount of wind resistance. Someone who has the ability to pinpoint with such accuracy, yet still let out her killing intent means that she's taunting me. The only person who can match the skill and audacity of the one behind me can't be anyone but _her_.

I stood up and turned to face my overconfident assailant, Zoë Nightshade.

"Hey, Zoë! Fancy meeting you here. I was wondering if you could let me take—" I was interrupted by a second arrow I barely managed to evade.

"'Tis not the time for chitchat, Percy Jackson," Zoë said, nocking a third one. "I hath not expected thee to come after the flag thyself, but this is most convenient for me."

"Yeah, I thought as much, but hey, maybe we could just—" again, another. "Could you please let me finish?"

But Zoe was having none of it. Her fifth arrow had already been released, and I didn't have enough time to dodge it. The blunt-tipped projectile hit my right shoulder, and I stiffled a scream. Those things weren't sharp, but they sure hurt alot. A dozen of those and I'd surely die.

"So much for 'non-lethal'," I said, staggering. My shoulder felt numb in pain. There's no way I could use this arm to properly hold my sword now. Zoe must have been aiming for that, because she looked pretty satisfied with herself. I could feel my anger boiling up.

"As ye wisheth, my valiant huntress. Allow me to wipe that smug look of _thy_ face," I said. I'm pretty sure my old English imitation ticked her off, because arrows started coming at a dangerously fast rate. My instincts took over as soon as I uncapped Riptide. I couldn't swing it with my damaged shoulder, but it was good enough for parrying arrows I couldn't dodge.

We kept going like this for what felt like hours. It's been a stalemate so far, but it could only go on for a few more minutes. I'm slowing down. My stamina is almost dried up, and I can't parry anything anymore. I could tell Zoe was enjoying this, because she's still mercilessly firing at me. An arrow hit me in the chest, and that was the last straw.

_Okay, now I'm really angry_.

I put my hand inside my left pocket and sure enough, there it was — my trump card.

Time for _Operation Aphrodite._

I charged blindly towards Zoë. Stupid move, I know. But once you run out of ideas, don't have much of a choice. Besides, stupid moves work well with stupid ideas.

Anyway, I was definitely closing distance between us. Once I've reached about 15 meters, it was about time to set my plan in motion. I reached for my pocket and took out the bottle of hair gel an Aphrodite kid gave me earlier. Remember when I said I was a good pitcher? I threw the bottle like a pro, and once it got close enough, it took everything I had muster to make the liquid inside it to explode, sending sticky hair gel flying everywhere, including Zoë's face.

_All according to plan_. I used it as a distraction for the next 10 meters, and used all the speed I mustered in giving the man-hating huntress a very neat tackle.

I, Percy Jackson, have just pinned Zoë Nightshade to the ground.

Well, along with myself. I'm pretty sure I used up all my energy. I can only pray that the battle-hardened, thousand-year-old maiden doesn't have the power to push away a growing teenager's motionless body.

Maybe I was just imagining things, but I could have sworn I heard shocked gasps and angry voices getting closer. Once I had enough strength to lift my head, I saw everyone along with Chiron gathering around me. The hunters looked like they could kill me in any given moment, and the campers looked like they've already come to terms with my death.

"What's up?" I said.

Thinking about it now, nothing much would be "up" for me except a painful death when I realized I was still on top of a crimson-faced Zoë Nightshade.

_Oh crap._

It was all I could think of before a fist connected to my face, and my consciousness was forced out of me.


	5. Apollo Being Apollo

I woke up in a bright yellow room. The walls, the ceiling, even my bed were all in gold. After seconds of opening, I was forced to close my eyes because the room was just that bright. Next, I was forced to cover my ears because of the ridiculously loud playing of opera music, which surely would've woken up the whole neighborhood already.

According to my past experiences in all my adventures, this place must be the _Fields of Punishment_. Suddenly the door opened, and a familiar-looking man with a very flashy smile entered the room. Then, like magic, the music stopped.

"You awake, kid?" said a voice I haven't heard in years. "What am I saying? Of course you're not. You're in a dream. Anyway, Sun Medical Clinic guarantees you a speedy overnight recovery. You'll be up and fighting _Jeegahnteez_ in no time."

"_Jeehgahnteez_?"

"No, I said _Heehauntayz_, the children of— " Apollo stopped midway. "Sorry, it just slipped. Forget everything I said. Don't tell anyone what you just heard. Capisce?"

"Yeah, sure. But what are we doing in the Underworld?"

"_Underworld_?" Apollo laughed. "Nice joke, kid. Actually, we're in my clinic. Does the Underworld look like a bright yellow version of the Camp Half-Blood infirmary?"

"I've only been in the camp infirmary a few times, so I can't tell."

"Hah, of course you can't! You're the Savior of Olympus. The Bane of Kronos. You don't _go_ to infirmaries, right?"

"No," I said, "I'm Percy. And I'm pretty sure I've heard that music in the Underworld before."

"So Hades _did_ accept my advice after everything he said. Uncles sure are difficult, huh?"

"Yeah. They try to kill me every chance they get."

Apollo shrugged. "Don't take it too hard, Percy. That's just how every other family is. They quarrel, fight, have centuries-old grudges, and even though they know they're immortal, they still want to kill each other."

"Um, sure," I said. "The Olympian Council in a nutshell."

"Right you are. Anyway, now that you're doing fine, I'd like to get down to business."

I took a deep breath. Whatever the sun god wants to tell me that he had to deliver it himself, it must be pretty bad.

"Olympus is in pretty bad shape." _Wait, that's it?_

"When was it _not_ in a bad shape?"

"Well touché, but this time, it's even worse. You see, the rightful ruler of the Fifth Age is my father, Zeus. There's no question about that. The fourth, Kronos tried to reclaim his rule, and he failed. The remains of third, Ouranos are still in thousands of pieces. But what about the other two?"

"They died?"

"That's what we all thought. Everything seems to be that way until recently, when strange things kept on happening. Phenomena that have never been seen before are occuring. Creatures far more ancient than us have emerged from under the ground and the deep seas; heck, Poseidon's already freaking out about it. Oh, and it seems there's some kind of godly activity in the Eastern side of the world, too. These things weren't written in our 'archive', and that's definitely saying something, because the oldest of records were written by the Titan Rhea herself. It's kind of frustrating for a god, you know?"

_Yeah, I can only imagine_. "So what's it got to do with me?"

"Relax kid, we'll get there. Where was I again? Oh yeah, it's very frustrating even for the King of Awesomeness, namely me. But that's not the worst part."

"There's still something worse than that?"

"Stop interrupting me," Apollo said. "Geez, why are kids always so impatient? Anyway, you know that us major gods gather for the winter solstice meeting, right?"

"Right."

"The worst part is that the Fates themselves crashed the party. Apparently there is an explanation for the strange occurences lately, and so they issued a new prophecy."

"And that prophecy had something to do with me again?"

"Most likely. Look, this as far as I can tell you for now. There are things that you're better off not knowing until the time comes. Besides, a mortal like you can't possibly swallow it all in one big gulp. That being said, I'm gonna be intruding your dreams for a while. Let's get along, okay?"

"Um yeah, sure." It really _is_ hard to take in. "Anyway, what's the prophecy?"

"You'll have to speak to my Oracle for that," Apollo said. "Oh, and bring Zoe Nightshade with you, too."

"_What_?"

"That's what the Fates want, man. Can't do anything about it."

"You do realize that I'm going to end up worse than dead if she ever sees me again, right?"

"Don't worry, kid. How about you heed my advice in picking up girls?"

"No thank you," I said. "Besides, your lines don't really work well on the Hunters, right?"

"Try me."

"Okay, go on."

"Well, if you're so persistent about it, maybe I could teach you a thing or two after all." _What's wrong with this god?_

"Alright, young Percy," Apollo said, "thank you for calling Apollo's Advices, how can I help you?"

This guy is definitely insane, even by godly standards. But he's still a god as much as he is a nutjob, so I have no choice but to go with the flow this time.

"Um, I have to ask a man-hating maiden who's tried to kill me the day before to come with me to the attic to see a dead body, just the two of us."

"Okay, there goes our first question!" Apollo said, trying to sound like a talk show host. "The answer is simple, Percy Jackson. While in most cases, a man would talk to a woman in private, this time you have to ask her out in front of many people. This is the best solution for cases like yours, where the girl had tried to kill you. Talking to her in a public place means there's less chances of you dying, and more chances of you having a girlfriend."

"Um, she brutally beat me up in public. In front of the whole camp, plus the Hunters. And she did it without hesitation."

"Well you're just gonna have to try harder this time, eh?"

"That's not helpfull at all!"

"And that is all for today, ladies and gentlemen," Apollo said, totally ignoring me. "See you again, same time tomorrow!"

Without warning, he reached out to touch my forehead. His fingers glowed bright yellow for about a few seconds, and as soon as it dissapeared, it felt like he passed something to me.

"What was that?"

"My blessing. You'll need it, kid. Plus, it'll surely help your luck with women. You can thank me later."

The dream faded, and my audience with the crazy sun god was over.


	6. We Go on a Date

I woke up. For real, this time. The room was a carbon copy of the one in my dream, just bar the annoying color and the annoying music. I guess Apollo was telling the truth after all.

Just like before, the door opened and three people stepped in. Annabeth, Thalia and Grover all came to see me.

"You awake, Percy?" Thalia said.

"Wow, even the dialog is the same."

They shot me a questioning look.

"Nothing," I said, "just a stupid dream. How long did I sleep?"

"About fourteen hours," Annabeth said, as if she'd properly calculated the time. "Seaweed Brain, just _what_ is your body made of?"

"Flesh, mostly," I said. "But is it still? I hope I didn't lose a limb and was forced to wear artificial ones or something." I did a check on my body, and it seems like I'm still in one piece.

"Your injury wasn't _that_ bad," Thalia said, "just bruised you up pretty badly, nothing serious."

"Right. About as 'nothing serious' as your 'non-lethal' arrows?"

"Don't be such a wimp," Thalia said. "At least you're still alive after being _Zoe'd_."

"Yeah," I said, until I realized she just used my personal term. "Wait, how'd you know about that?"

"You talk in your sleep," Annabeth said, chuckling. The other two soon followed.

"Didn't you just arrive?"

"No," Grover said, "we've been here since last night, taking turns visiting you."

"Yeah," Thalia agreed, "we needed to make sure you don't get _Zoe'd_ any more than this."

"Oh shut up."

"You're all fine now," Annabeth said. "Although it seems your vocal chords were damaged a little."

Now that she mentioned it, my voice _did_ sound different, even for me. And I was starting to realize that it wasn't Zoe's fault.

"Man, you should've seen the look on Zoe's face," Thalia said. "I've never witnessed something as priceless. If only I caught it on tape—"

I held my hand up, effectively silencing her. "Listen to this," I tried to sing.

It took one stanza to render my visitors speechless. Heck, I'm pretty astonished myself.

"Wow, Percy," Thalia said, finally regaining her voice. "I didn't know you could do that."

"Yeah, me too," I said. "This must be the 'blessing' Apollo was talking about."

"Apollo talked to _you_?" Annabeth said.

"In my dream, yeah. What about it?"

"Percy, the gods have completely stopped making contact with their children just a couple of weeks ago," Thalia said. "Our lady Artemis sent us here, went to Olympus, and we haven't heard from her since."

"I heard things are pretty rough up there, but Apollo hasn't told me anything about that."

"Well, what did he tell you?" Annabeth asked. "It had to be something important if he had to go out of his way just to reach you."

"Pretty important. Apparently I have a quest, so I'm going to consult the Oracle together with the girl who almost killed me."

"Another quest with _Zoë Nightshade_?" Grover said, eyes brimming with excitement. "Percy, as your former guardian and best friend, I am responsible in keeping you safe from all harm, so you should let me join you."

"Um, yeah, about that, Apollo said we have to do this only by ourselves."

"_What_!?"

"I know, it sounds like suicide. Or maybe murder, as far as Zoë is concerned. But, prophecies are prophecies. I don't really have a say in this."

"Oo-kay," Thalia said, "so how are you planning to tell her this?"

"_That's_ what I'm worried about," I said. "I have complete faith that Apollo's suggestion would backfire in the worst possible way, so I didn't even consider it."

"So you come to us for advice?"

"Er, you were the one who visited me though."

"Details, details," Thalia said. "Anyway, what I'm about to tell you is, without a doubt, the only way to approach Zoe. Listen carefully, because it's all over if you make even one little mistake."

And so, Thalia relayed her strategy.

* * *

At long last, it was lunch break. Everyone is in the dining pavilion, so it's the perfect time to set our plan in motion. As usual, the campers sat on their respective tables, according to their parentage. For the Hunters, Artemis lets them use her table whenever they visit the camp. Sitting in the middle was the target, Zoë Nightshade. She seemed to have recovered already, being able to crack a few smiles every now and then. I decided now would be my chance to carry out our plan. Apparently Thalia, who was sitting beside Zoë, thought so too, because she was already giving me the 'go' signal.

Once I've properly memorized my dialog, I made my way to the Artemis table. As soon as they saw where I'm headed, everyone suddenly stopped whatever they were doing to observe. The Hunters who were laughing just a second ago turned dead serious the moment they saw me coming.

I didn't stop walking until I was directly behind Zoe, who turned to face me with a cold, blank expression.

"Yo, Zoe!" I said as confidently as I could. "I have something to say, do you mind if we talk a little?"

Now everyone was dead silent. Offerings were halted. Even Mr. D put down his wine magazine in curiousity.

"And why, in thy wildest dreams, would I grant a mere _boy_ the honor of my presence?"

I was getting a little impatient. "Look, it's really imporant, okay? I promise I'll explain once we're alone, but for now, please go out with me."

Zoe's eyes widened for a bit, but quickly regained her composure. "Very well. I shall meet you outside the dining pavilion." She stood up and made her way towards the door.

All of a sudden, the silence was broken by Thalia's hysterical laughter. Others soon joined in, along with whistling, and shouts like:

"I knew they would end up together!"

"THE BEST COUPLE! I SWEAR THEY'RE SO CUTE!"

"Wow, Percy, I didn't know you were such a masochist!"

I probably would've replied with a big '_What the heck are you talking about_' if I weren't so busy glaring daggers at my beloved cousin who looked like she was having a good time.

"You tricked me," I said. "Now everyone's getting the wrong idea."

"What are you talking about?" Thalia said. "I told you it would work, didn't I? I never said anything about how others would see it, but Zoë seemed to get your idea. You're the same kind of idiots after all."

"We'll talk about this later, _cousin_," I spat. Right now, all I wanted was to leave this place and get things over with.

"Have fun! It's your second date, after all," was all I heard from Thalia before I slammed the door shut.

After explaining everything carefully, (and making sure I didn't get closer than 5 meters) I managed to convince Zoe to consult the Oracle together with me. For once, we had an actual conversation and things didn't get violent. Zoe seemed to be angry about the fact that I hadn't even thought of asking Apollo about Artemis for her, so she practically ignored me for the rest of the trip to the Big House.

* * *

I haven't been in the attic for years, but it looked less spacious than how I remembered it. Nothing much changed, save for some newly added junk. Spoils of war from the second Titanomachy filled the room, occupying what little extra space the room had. This got me even more claustrophobic than before.

_I want to get out of here as soon as possible._

Apparently Zoe does, too — her usual expressionless face turned into one full of irritation. She even began tapping her foot on the floor in impatience. After a minute with no response, she turned to me.

"Thou hast tricked me," she said, drawing her knife. "I shall—"

Her threat was cut short when the room temperature suddenly dropped. We turned just in time to see the green mist pour out of the Oracle's mouth. I've already seen this once, but I am still very much freaked out. Even Zoe backed a few steps.

Like before, the voice of the Oracle slithered into my mind.

_I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seekers, and ask._

Zoë was about to cut to the chase, but I beat her to it. "Uh, hi. What do we need to know about our quest?"

The huntress of Artemis shot me a glare, and for once, I think I actually deserved it. Fortunately, the Oracle considered the question valid. The mist got thicker, taking form into the shape of a young girl I've never met before, probably no older than twelve. After a moment of silence, the kid began to speak.

_The secret of Creation lies in the far west,_

_A journey full of misfortune will put one to test._

_Two shall depart, but thee will arrive,_

_Against all odds, the three shall survive._

_Unbreakable bonds will be forged by Fate,_

_And the Anlace shall once again wake._

The illusion dispersed, and the green smoke returned to the mummy's mouth. The spirit of Delphi disappeared, and just like that, I'm off to a quest yet again.

None of us said a word as we left the Big House, but Zoe decided to break the silence.

"Pack thy provisions. We shall leave by sundown."

"_Already_?" I whined. I haven't even come to terms with my situation yet. "Can't we just go first thing tomorrow?"

"No," Zoë said with a tone of finality. "We must make haste. Do not tell a soul anent our departure. Thalia's Pine will be our rendezvous point. I shall meet you there as soon as everyone is in the dining pavilion."

"You plan to leave _secretly_?" I asked.

"Ye hast not a say in this, Percy Jackson," Zoë said. "Be grateful that I am even allowing thee to accompany me in this quest."

"Yeah, that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside," I muttered. This is the worst. I'm about to go on a very dangerous quest, and I don't even get to say goodbye to my friends. Still, Zoë is on the same boat, so I can't complain. There must be a reason behind this, so I tried to understand and didn't say anything else. For the next few hours, I locked myself up in my cabin and avoided my friends so that they wouldn't have the chance to pry it out of me. I spent my time preparing the things that I'm gonna bring and stuff it all in single bag, since carrying more than one would be impractical.

Finally, it was dinner time. After carefully picking what I _really_ need, I slung my bag on my shoulder and headed out. And since I'm leaving for a while, I decided to take a long detour to enjoy the surroundings one more time. I walked for a good fifteen minutes before making my way to the place my short-tempered quest partner promised to meet me. It was still pretty early, so I thought I'd be the first to arrive.

Boy, was I wrong.

As soon as I reached the top of the hill, I sensed a murderous aura I know too well, and found myself face-to-face with a very angry-looking Zoë Nightshade. She was so scary, even Peleus, the dragon guarding the pine tree, didn't have the courage to go anywhere near her.

"Ye sure hast nerve," Zoë said, eyebrows twitching, "to make me wait on our _date._"

"_D-d-date!?_" I fumbled.

"Aye," Zoë said. "'Tis what Thalia hath told me to replace the term _quest_."

"That's not even close," I said. " Thalia's fooling with you."

"And why should I trust the words of a mere _boy_ over my co-lieutenant?"

_That would be because she's taking advantage of your cluelessness,_ I thought.

"Whatever. Just don't use that term in public if you don't want people to misunderstand."

"I do not need _thee_ telling me what to do."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get this _date_ on the road already."

_And with that, our adventure begins._

* * *

Let me occupy this space and say a few things.

While I was writing this chapter, I realized that I still hadn't explained everything, plus I only remembered now how Zoë's name ends with 'ë' rather than plain 'e'. Minor detail. Anyway, I assume some of you guys are wondering why the Oracle isn't _Rachel Elizabeth Dare, _even though the story begins at post-Titan War. Believe me when I say that it wasn't merely a mistake on my part. That's just how it is in my parallel universe. Rachel _will_ appear at the story later on, but she will not be playing the Oracle. Her role is something else entirely, and I can't say it without spoiling anything, and you probably wouldn't want that.

I do have some very good news for the few people who appreciate my story.

In the middle of this chapter, I pondered for a while what will happen _after_ the story (yes, I was planning to turn this into a series) and out of the blue, ideas suddenly started hitting me at an alarmingly fast rate. I couldn't keep up with my thoughts, so I jotted it down on WordPad. And when I looked at the finished product, it actually looked nicely deep and not something that just popped out of nowhere. I had so many ideas, it couldn't possible fit in a story or two. As my summer vacation is running short, I will turn the speed of the story up a notch, so that I can hopefully finish the series before June. It's the first time I actually _wanted_ to exert effort in something, so I'm gonna be very consistent in updating chapters like always.

By the way, I noticed that the number of reviews in my story is pathetically few compared to most. That doesn't affect me much, rather, I am bothered because nobody even bothers to criticize my work. Maybe I'm being too hasty, but still, this is way worse than I expected. I don't really want to go around begging people to read and review my story, (I would prefer not take that route) but the way things are going, I might be forced to pull a string or two. Even as a hobby, writing really means much to me and I'd like to get better at it. The fastest way would be to attract critics, which I'm miserably failing at. If you've something to say, please let me know through reviewing. PM'ing is good, too. It'd be a huge help.

/rant


	7. Trouble with the Dead

Apparently our combined scents are really something, because not even five minutes had passed before we ran into trouble.

It happened in an abandoned farmhouse, a good fifteen-minute walk away from Camp Half-Blood. Yes, we were running really fast. Zoë insisted that we do not waste our time moving slowly, "akin to a turtle." I insisted that we would most likely end up like snails if we kept this up, but she just doesn't listen to me. Why? Because I'm a "mere boy." I couldn't agree more.

Listen, man-haters out there. If you're reading this, I have something to make clear. Like you always say, we're just "mere boys." "Mere boys" do _not_ possess an infinite pool of stamina, and thus _aren't_ capable of running _non-stop_ for _300 seconds_, in _full speed_. Got it? Good. Now please don't gut me.

Anyway, I was already way out of steam, so I decided to take a break. Zoë obviously didn't like that, and so she was going to beat me until I can no longer walk. She would have done it if not for the "trouble" I mentioned earlier. Just before she could land a first punch, an ear-piercing scream coming from inside the farmhouse completely destroyed my eardrums. That was definitely from a human, so we decided to check it out. We ran hurriedly towards the house.

Sure enough, there she was: A little girl, probably on fifth grade, leaning against the wall, cornered by two _scythian dracaenae_. They looked ready to pounce, so I had to cause a distraction.

"Hey _Snakeys_! Over here!"

That got their attention. The slimy slit-eyed baddies turned around angrily, but hesitated for a second the moment they identified their aggressor.

"Perseusss Jacksssson," said Reptile Number One. "You will die."

"Revenge for Kronossss," said Reptile Number Two.

I uncapped Riptide, and the glow of Celestial Bronze illuminated the dark room. That seemed to make them even angrier. They ran towards me like a tidal wave. Not wanting to be swept away, I charged too. Reptile Number Two was the one leading, so I took care of her first. She thrust out her weapon, intending to stab me. Luckily, I already have experience fighting shield-less spear-snakes. I kept charging until the last moment, and suddenly ducked. Swinging Riptide in a diagonal direction, I successfully cut her spear in half. Then, I put my weight in my left shoulder and crashed into her unguarded belly. She clutched her stomach in pain, and I used the opportunity to cut her head. Meanwhile, Zoë was already interrogating Reptile Number One, who was pinned to the wall by half a dozen silver arrows.

"I shall not repeat a third time," she said. "Who sent thee?"

"I do not have to ansssswerrr to you," the _dracaenae_ spat. "Kill me if you musssst."

"Was it the Minotaur?" I jokingly said.

She didn't seem to like that idea much. "Nonssssenssse! That mindlessss beassst hasss no power over me. I only acccept ordersss from our Queen Sessss!"

"Looks like we have a name."

"Queen Sess, eh?" Zoë said. "I hath heard of that name before. The _Dracaenae Queen_."

Reptile Number One's eyes widened as she realized her slip-up, but before she could say anything about it, my beloved quest partner slit her scaly throat.

I heard a sob behind me.

Oh yeah, I totally forgot. We were rescuing a little girl, whose glass-shattering wail caught our attention. Still, it was a good coincidence. If we didn't happen to pass by, she'd be nothing but monster chow at this point.

I turned to Zoë. "What do we do with her?"

"For now, she will come with us."

I didn't argue.

* * *

We took a look around the farmhouse in the dark. Zoë insisted that we do not to turn on the lights — there might be other monsters still lingering around the area. She decided to let the girl stay in the living room while we hunt for supplies. Fortunately for us, it looks like the house wasn't abandoned until very recently, so there's still gotta be food somewhere. I went to the kitchen and luckily, I found plenty of canned food in the shelves. Enough to last us for a couple of days. Things got even luckier when we found an old-but-functioning minivan in the garage. It wasn't very spacious, but it's more than enough to fit all three of us in. Five minutes later, we were all set and ready to go.

I volunteered to drive, but Zoë insisted, saying that she doesn't want to entrust their safety to a — wait for it — "mere boy." Yeah. _Mereboy Jackson_, that's me.

Under the gleam of the car light, Zoë and I had a discussion about dealing with the kid.

"Shouldn't we bring her back to the camp?"

"Nay. The young lass is destined to accompany us in our _date_."

"What makes you say that?"

"Fool. Peer closely. Hath we not seen her before?"

I was pretty dark back in the farmhouse so I didn't notice, but finally, it hit me. This kid looks exactly like the mirage conjured by the Oracle's green mist: Dark olive hair, black eyes, freckled face and a short horizontal scar across her forehead. I thought she looked like someone I know, until I realized something. We have seen her before in more ways than one.

This girl looks exactly like Bianca di Angelo.

After a minute of silence, 'Bianca the Second' spoke up. "Um, what are you people? What's with those snake monsters back in the farmhouse?"

The car stopped. I looked out the window and saw nothing but trees. Looks like we're in the middle of a forest. Well, as expected of a Hunter.

"We shall stay here for tonight," Zoë said. Then she looked at me. "You, go and gather some firewood."

I checked my wristwatch. It's already 9 PM, and we haven't had any dinner yet.

_Wait, I brought my watch?_

I could've saved some energy if I remembered before I fought with the _dracaenae_. _But whatever, better get going_.

It only took a moment for me to gather enough firewood, so I was back in an instant.

Unfortunately, 'a moment' was more than enough for our dear Zoë Nightshade.

When I arrived, the passive, quiet baby wolf from before had grown some very sharp fangs. She was doing what I'd like to call the 'Glare of the Hunter', and it looks like she'd almost mastered it.

"Ten minutes," I said, glancing at my watch. "That's gotta be a new record, Zoë. What's her name?"

"Anna," Zoë said, still wearing a smug look. "She will make a fine huntress."

_Like Bianca_, I thought. More than three years have passed, but it still feels like yesterday. I remember everything in full detail, and that made me _really_ uncomfortable, so I stopped thinking about it.

I cleared my throat. "So, Anna, what were you doing back there?"

* * *

Zoë decided that we hear her out while having dinner. Since we were on a quest, I only salvaged preservable goods from the farmhouse. Being the smart person I am, I forgot to borrow a knife. Obviously I got scolded for it, and Zoë refused to lend one of her knives, saying, "'Tis not a tool for opening sealed cans."

So Riptide took one for the team.

Annie told her tale on the campfire. Apparently she has absolutely no recollection of her past, and that she only woke up in that farmhouse several weeks ago. She said "three middle-aged women" took care of her, all who mysteriously disappeared this morning. By night the monsters had infiltrated her house, and then we came.

She also took the thing about Greek mythology surprisingly well. I thought she'd be more skeptical about it, but she said, "My mothers talked about the same stuff all the time."

"I guess that makes things easy. How old are you, by the way?"

Her glare returned. "I don't wanna answer you, _boy_."

_To think the venom would spread this quickly..._

"What is thy age?"

"I'm ten," she said. It didn't even take a second. "According to my mothers, that is. They said my birthday is December 31, too."

Then out of nowhere, she excitedly said, "I want to be like you, Zoë. You said you're gonna make me a Hunter, right?"

"Indeed," Zoë said, "but that can only be done by my patron, Artemis."

"Cool! Artemis, the gentle, kind-hearted, beautiful, merciful, compassionate, amazing moon goddess! I want to meet her already."

_That description is completely biased, kid_, I thought. Unfortunately, these things will forever remain in my mind, never destined to be voiced.

"Someday, young one," Zoë said, gently. "But for now you must rest. We will depart before sunrise."

Annie obediently complied, and went inside the minivan to sleep.

As soon as she was gone, Zoë's soft expression turned serious.

"The parent of that lass..."

"No doubt, it's _our friend downstairs_."

Zoë shot me a questioning look.

"It's another replacement term, okay? Just like _date_."

"I understand. And the three women..."

"Yeah," I said. "Probably the Fur—"

"Kindly Ones," she corrected.

"Right. _Triple demon grandmothers_."

"Another one of thy 'replacement terms'?"

"You bet." Then I turned serious. "Anyway, you noticed too, right?"

"Noticed what, I wonder?"

I lowered my head. "How she strongly resembled Bianca."

Zoë didn't respond.

Even as a dead spirit, Bianca had assured me that it wasn't my fault. That it was her own decision. But still, she would've been alive. She could have lived, if only I...

"Do not fret, Percy Jackson." Zoë said, as if she read my mind. "Bianca would not wish to see thee like this."

This time, I'm the one who didn't respond.

"It is true that I saw her in that child. Perhaps I still do. But I will do everything in my power to keep her alive. She _will not_ meet an early end like Bianca did."

Zoë sounded so confident, it was hard for me to not be convinced. I thought about how I let Bianca die, not being able to do anything for her. That won't happen again. _This time..._

"She'll live," I agreed. "I wouldn't have it any other way."


	8. My Untimely Marriage

I woke up to the sound of a car engine revving.

_Huh? Feels like I'm on a passenger seat. Weren't I sleeping outside?_

The engine revved again, and I noticed it sounded different. Like a sports car's.

"Oh, you there now?" That voice again.

"Apollo. This... my car?"

"What? No, this is my Maserati Spyder, not yours."

"What am I doing in the sun chariot?"

"Sun chariot?" Apollo laughed. "Unfortunately, no. It's still midnight, you know? This one's a hundred percent mortal-made."

I looked out the window, but I couldn't see a thing.

"So, what can I do for you this time?

"Nothing much. I have some good news and bad news. Which one comes first?"

"Bad."

"Alright. You about our ascension to Olympus?"

"What about it?"

"Has anything changed in your camp since then?"

I thought about it. "Nothing aside from the usual."

"Think deeper. There's gotta be something strange."

"Nope. Nothing changed, really." When I think about it, nothing changed, and nobody noticed it, but...

"Now that you mention it, Mr. D was there the day I received a quest. Wait, weren't you guys up in Olympus?"

"I thought as much," Apollo rubbed his chin. "Something — no, _someone_ took the form Dionysus and tried to hide the fact that Father locked us all up here."

For someone to even _want_ to look like Mr D, that's a whole new definition of desperate.

"How can they pull that of so easily?"

"For beings like us, that's a piece of cake. They probably took advantage of the fact that we don't talk to our children much."

"But Thalia knew about it. How come?"

"Well, they couldn't possibly fool my sister's fangirls, could they? Since those guys were always together and all."

_That makes sense. Since nobody gives a damn about Mr. D, they won't be able figure it out._

"I'm gotta warn the camp."

"There's no need for that," Apollo assured me. "I think they've already matched the dots. The doppelganger had the chance to wipe out the Greek demigods, but he didn't. That means this guy doesn't have much of a power other than superior Mist manipulation."

_He used the Mist?_

"There's still too many things that we don't have an answer to. Guess I'll have to do a little bit of investigating myself. Anyway, let's change topics. The good news comes next, yes?"

"Yeah, I was saving that for last."

"For that, you'll have to go to New Hampshire. Take Zoë with you, of course."

"New Hampshire? That's on the east, right? Where's the good news in that?"

"Just do it. You'll know when you get there."

"Well, if the sun god insists," I said. "By the way, I think you already know this, but a little girl just joined our quest."

"Little girl? What are you talking about?"

"Like I said, we rescued a ten-year-old in a farmhouse not far from the camp. Isn't that what the prophecy implies? '_Two shall depart, but three will arrive'?_"

"No. Yes, but no." _I wish somebody would give me a straight answer for once._

"What exactly do you mean, Apollo?"

"Yes to the prophecy, but no to the kid. She wasn't supposed to be the third member of your quest."

"Then who is?"

"The clear-sighted mortal — Reyna, was it?"

"Rachel," I corrected. "Why her?"

"Lots of reasons," Apollo said. "Even so, I don't like this. That girl is clouded from me. I don't even know what she looks like. Is she hot?"

"She's _ten_, for gods' sake. Besides, she's more or less a Hunter now."

"Already?"

"It only took ten minutes. Pretty amazing, huh?"

"Yeah. As expected of your _date_ partner."

"How do you know about that?"

Apollo flashed a mischievous smile. "I have my sources."

"Whatever," I decided to drop the topic. "Is that all?"

"No, there's one more thing." The sun god's face turned serious all of a sudden. "Keep an eye on that girl for me, will you? I've got a really bad feeling about this."

_Children of Hades tend to have that effect on most people,_ I thought. It's not that I don't trust Apollo, but my gut tells me that it isn't time for him to know that yet.

"Can I wake up now?"

"Sure. Oh, and I might pay you guys a sudden visit anytime. Be sure to welcome me with hospitality, okay?"

"Got it, Fred." And the dream vanished.

* * *

Once again, I woke up to the sound of the car engine. And yeah, I'm sleeping outside, so...

"Wait, you're gonna leave me here?"

"If ye do not rise in the count of ten, that will most likely be the case."

Nothing like a threat from that girl to fully wake me up. It didn't even take four seconds for me to get up and haul myself inside the car. I haven't even buckled my seat belt yet, so I kind of leaned forward when Zoë suddenly stepped hard on the gas. I guess she was aiming for it, because she was struggling in holding back her laughter. On the other hand, the little turd at the backseat had no reservations whatsoever.

_Sometime today, I'm gonna knock these two off their high horses._

"Zoë, let me drive this time."

"I refuse."

This is really getting on my nerves. "Why not? I'll have you know that I already have experience in driving. Several months ago, I borrowed my stepdad's Prius—"

"And it got stomped by a pegasus, correct?"

"But that wasn't _my_ fault! Wait, how did you know about that?"

"Thalia," was all she said. Well, I figured as much. It's pretty exhausting to argue about every little thing, so I let it slide. There's just no reasoning with these people.

"Okay, I give up. You can drive. Just go to New Hampshire."

"New Hampshire is on the opposite direction, is it not?"

"Yeah, but Apollo told me to bring you guys there. He said it'll be good news, so don't worry."

"That _male_ is a liar," Zoë said. Pretty ironic, since Apollo's the god of truth and all.

"But even so, 'that male' is a god, so we can't ignore his summons."

"I do not like this."

"You don't like _everything_, Zoë, so it's not really much of a surprise."

"Silence, _boy_."

"Yeah, yeah."

After that, we didn't speak for a while until...

"Let's play family!"

"Huh?" Zoë and I said in unison. I looked at her in surprise, and she turned the other way. _What's with her?_

"You heard what I said. Let's play family!"

"How do you exactly plan on doing that?"

"Well, Zoë can be Mommy, and I'll be the daughter!"

_I see. That's how it works, after all._

"Then, I guess I would be—"

"Yeah. You're the family dog."

_Wait, what?_

_Just what the heck is this? I would've been fine with being an adopted child or something, but a dog? I'm the main protagonist here, you know? Isn't that a little too harsh? It was bad enough that I was a "mere boy," now you're demoting me to a "mere animal?"_

"I'm just kidding," Anna added. "Maybe you could be Daddy, after all."

Zoë slammed the brakes. _Hard._

"Wha-what art thou saying, Anna!? A mere beast could not possibly be my husband! And I do not even approve of a husband, for that matter! Men are disgusting _pigs_, did I not teach you that!?"

"She's right, Anna! There's no way I would marry a girl like that! Besides, is she even considered a woman? As far as I'm concerned, she's nothing but a demon with a female body!"

If she's angry, so am I. There's no way I'm gonna last a week with someone like that. Putting up with her for the rest of my life? Just thinking about it makes me wanna throw up.

"B-but my mothers told me that you need a mother and a father to form a family," Anna said softly. "I never had a father before, so I thought... I just thought..." She began sobbing.

"You didn't have to be so against it." Now she's crying. Zoë looked at me with eyes that said _'Make her stop, or else...'_

I shot a look back. _'Me? You shouted more than I did!'_

_'The fault is thine! All would have ended well if only ye did not object with being a dog!'_

_'What do you mean 'object'? I didn't even say anything! Stop putting the blame on others, and get on with it!'_

_'What did ye say!?'_

_'Technically, I didn't say anything. We're just having eye contact, aren't we? Anyway, I'd calm her down, but that would be saying that men are better than women at these things. In other words, if I did that, it would also mean that you lost to me, right?'_ She'd definitely bite with this.

_'Thy audacity is commendable, Percy Jackson.'_ Zoë was fuming at this point. _'Very well. I shall prove my superiority as a woman once more. Witness for thyself!'_

For the first time in ages, I totally got her, and it feels so good. _Man, I could do this all day._

"A-As ye wish," Zoë said hesitantly. "I agree to thy terms."

The sobbing girl turned cheerful in a split second. "Really?"

"R-Really." _She just dug her own grave._

"Yay! Did you hear that, Daddy?" _Crap._ Winning felt so good, I completely forgot about my involvement.

"Y-Yeah, Anna."

"Let's get along, okay?"

_She got us both. As it turned out, this girl is far more evil than Zoë could ever be._


	9. My Wife Tries to Kill Me

Since we left pretty early, we made it to New Hampshire by midday.

Even though I said midday, it didn't really feel like one. Storm clouds swirled in the gray skies, completely blocking the sun's view.

_It'd probably start raining soon._

"Hey, Daddy," Anna said, "you said I might be a half-blood, right?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Then, do you know who my parent is?"

I froze. Speaking from experience, telling her would be a really bad idea. Our scents get stronger when we find out about our parentage. Besides, Zeus would get ultra pissed if he finds out Hades sired another demigod while the oath was still intact.

"Sorry," I lied, "I don't know."

Thankfully, she believed it.

I stole a glance at Zoë, who looked like she haven't slept for days. There were dark rings under her eyes, and her gaze isn't focused.

"Mommy, I'm hungry."

No response.

"Mommy?"

I thought Zoë was just too miffed to reply, so I stayed out of it. That was until our car suddenly took a sharp right, and the minivan derailed from the road and plowed through the tall grass.

"Zoë, what the—"

Our driver was leaning on the steering wheel, completely asleep. Cursing in Ancient Greek, I unbuckled my seatbelt and tried to yank Zoë off the driver's seat.

Too late. We're going to crash into a tree.

"Anna, hit the floor and hold on to something!"

Preparing for the worst, I grabbed my sleeping partner and dived for safety. The force of the collision isn't much, but it was enough to haul us not only on the backseat, but at the space behind that, where we put our supplies. I closed my eyes in an attempt to shield them from broken glass shards. Finally, the car stopped.

"You okay, Anna?"

"I'm alright! How about you and Mommy?"

"We're good." Or so, I think. My eyes are still closed, so I don't know.

Other than a probable head injury, I don't really feel much pain.

_So why can't I move my body?_

I opened my eyes, and what I saw almost gave me a heart attack.

Zoë Nightshade, the Lieutenant of Artemis, was unconsciously lying on top of me. _Oh, so that's why_.

"Having fun, aren't you, Daddy?" Anna said, watching from the back seat. She looks uninjured.

"Stop staring and help get this woman off me."

"You seem to be enjoying yourselves, so I won't." _Why, you little..._

"Come on!" I hissed, "You know what'll happen if she wakes up like this, right? You're gonna be fatherless!"

"Oh, if you raise your voice like that, she'll..."

And so, at the worst possible timing, my wife started regaining consciousness.

"Keep it quiet, will thee?" Zoë sat up, grunting. Then she saw me. "Wh-what are you—!?"

_Oh no, she's turning red._ "C-Calm down, Zoë. There's an explanation for this!" _Crap, she's not listening anymore._ "Look! There's a child watching! Let's not resort to viole—" _Smack!_

* * *

This time, my dream was different from the usual.

The room was dimly lit, and I can't see much. All I can make out were two humanoid figures standing next to each other, but facing opposite directions.

The one on the right, who was leaning against the wall, spoke first, "Direct orders from our patron. Which is why she gave us these —" he tapped the wall, which turned out to be made of glass "— toys to use."

"I see," said the one on the left, who was facing the glass wall, "but we alone should have been enough. Why bother with these low-class monsters?"

"That overconfidence will be your downfall, Perses. Our target might be a child, but do not forget that her protectors are not just ordinary lackeys."

"What can a mere demigod do?"

"The very same demigod had won the war for Olympus. He defeated our leader."

"In his weakened state, that is. Had Kronos fully restored power, he wouldn't have stood a chance."

"Fool. Anyone who can match the Lord of Time should not be underestimated. You'd be wise to remember that. Furthermore, he is not alone. The exiled daughter of Atlas is with them."

"Ah, a fine woman. I shall make her my own."

"You can do that only after we've completed our objective."

"Acquire the girl and bring her to our patron, right?"

"Correct. This will not be an easy task, so we best proceed with caution. I will send a few monsters to assess their strength. We will take action according to the results we get."

"I will go as well, Brother," 'Perses' said. "This Percy Jackson — I want to see his strength for myself."

"Do as you wish. But don't overdo it."

* * *

I woke up and found myself lying on a patch of grass. It was still midday, probably an hour or two had passed. I tried to get up, but my body felt sore all over. Especially my face.

I caught the scent of roasted chicken. No, that's impossible. There's no way a chicken could be hunted in the middle of nowhere. I followed the smell until my eyes finally landed on the fire. Zoë and Anna were sitting beside it, cooking a... chicken.

"Zoë, that's a chicken."

"Aye."

"I mean, where'd you get it?"

Anna answered for her, "Mommy said she found a house full of these on the other side of the forest."

"Indeed," Zoë said, "There were quite a lot of them. Worry not, I only took one and released the rest."

"Oh, that's good," I said, until I realized what she did. "Wait, you _released_ them?"

"Aye," Zoë said, "'Twas the right thing to do, is it not?"

"Like hell it is! Those were livestock animals, you know?"

Zoë huffed. "I do not approve of livestock. Food are meant to be hunted, not kept in one's back yard."

"Okay, okay. I give up." There's just no arguing with this woman.

Anna went to fetch some food back in the car. Seconds after, I heard the sound of footsteps approaching from the forest.

They're here. Zoë must have noticed too, since she's already on her feet, expecting a fight.

"Mommy, what's wrong?" Anna had already returned, holding a can of tuna.

"Anna, get back in the car." I took of my wristwatch and handed it to her. "And stay there for a while."

"But why—" The look on my face meant serious business, so she quietly complied.

I taught her how the shield works. "When things go bad, I want you to push this button right here. It'll keep you safe." She nodded and ran for the van.

Luckily, Anna was already there when our visitors came into vision. What we saw was so terrifying, I would've fainted if it were my first time seeing this kind of thing.

Dozens of monsters emerged from the forest. Hellhounds, _dracaenae_, Laistrygonian Giants, and some kind of bird-lion hybrids I've never seen weren't organized in groups, which is probably a good thing. They were so many, and were making so much noise.

Before I could finish counting them, the monsters split in two sides, forming an aisle in the middle. A man appeared in the back and started walking towards us. He was huge — probably 12 feet tall, with a muscular build. Really muscular. In fact, he looked like Ares who ate steroids as cereal for breakfast. This was the guy in my dream. The man called Perses.

"Where is she?" Perses spoke in a deep, ancient voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I will ask again. Where is the child?" He spoke in a harsher, impatient tone. Then he glanced past us and set his eyes on the minivan. "Over there, huh?"

They were after Anna.

_Apollo, you bastard. Where's the good news in this?_

Zoë backed away slowly to gain some range. She beat me up pretty badly, so all I could do was stay still and calmly analyze the enemy.

Intimidating them would be a good move, but I doubt it would work on their commander. If anything, it was me who was daunted by him.

Riptide felt heavy in my pocket. I took it out and uncapped it in hopes of scaring away the monsters, but that seemed to infuriate them even more.

Bad move. Perses raised his sword — a big red double-edged claymore coated with molted granite, as if it came straight from a volcano — and the monsters started pounding their weapons on the ground. The gray clouds thickened, and a flock of storm spirits appeared from the dark sky. It started raining heavily as soon as they descended.

"_Anemoi thuellae_," Zoë said, looking up. "This is bad."

"Really?" I said, gripping my sword. "It's not that bad for me, though." Their arrival was somewhat convenient for me. My injuries dissapeared quickly, and my senses heightened. I've been rejuvenated by the rain.

Realizing this, Perses wasted no time and unleashed a pack of hellhounds. I held my ground and waited for them to pounce, but their eyes weren't set on me.

"Zoë, they're heading for Anna!"

I didn't have to tell her. I felt something approaching from behind, and I tilted my head in instinct. A blur of silver whizzed past where my head had been seconds ago, hitting a hellhound between its eyes. That served as a good warning shot, and the pack completely stopped their advance. I turned around.

"That was a great shot, but I almost died, you know?"

"My apologies," Zoë said," I won't miss next time."

"You were actually aiming for _me_?"

"Yes. Why?" Zoë tilted her head, as if she didn't get why I was angry.

"I don't know about you, but people don't usually try to kill their quest partners especially when they're about to be eaten by fifty-or-so monsters. Take this a little seriously, will you?"

"Silence!" Perses's roar was so fierce, the tremor shook the ground. The monsters who were getting noisy again turned quiet. Only the sound of the rain can be heard. "You dare have a lovers' spat in the midst of battle, in front of _me?_ Such insolence!"

That hit a nerve. "Lovers, you say?" Zoë said from behind me. Her voice was so cold, even a monster's heart would surely freeze. "As a huntress of Artemis, I will not let that pass."

I'm starting to feel sorry for these guys already. "You messed with the wrong maiden, my friends."

The monsters were frozen in fear, save for a hellhound that acted independently and charged for the van again. I raised my left hand, and the rainwater responded to my will. With it, I formed a huge hand, grabbed the hellhound and dragged it across the ground with such force, it left a trench in front of me. It was only 5 feet wide, but deep enough that I can stand in it and not be seen. I checked on the hellhound, but all that remained are golden dust and a mess of black fur.

Feeling satisfied, I jumped to the other half of the 30 meter-long trench that divided the battlefield in two.

"I'm sorry, but we're gonna have to settle it here. That side is off-limits."

The pack of hellhounds ignored the warning and charged again. Fortunately, the trench had already been filled by rain water. When they tried to jump over it, gigantic liquid hands rose, captured a hellhound each and dragged them underwater. Only their fur resurfaced.

"Interesting, Percy Jackson!" Perses said, "Very well, we shall do it your way. Once I have acquired the child, I will kill you and take your woman for myself."

"She's not my woman," I said, "You're not taking her either."

And with that, I charged.

* * *

I'm changing the title a bit, since its purpose of misleading had already failed. I apologize for not updating for a while, too. The next episode will obviously be a fight scene, and I promise you won't be disappointed.


	10. Apollo Proves His Usefulness

It's been a while since I entered Percy Mode: parry, stab, roll, cut, dodge, stab again. I fought and fought, not paying atttention to anything else. I was struggling for my life, but I didn't care. It was frightening how I could be so calm in a situation like this. I liked fighting, and that was even scarier.

My thoughts went blank as I pierced through the ranks. Every monster that dared to stop me were slashed down. The ones who were Riptide's range found arrows sprouted on their bodies. Monster dust scattered everywhere. We were unstoppable.

Contrary to popular belief, me and Zoë make a pretty good team.

"Percy, above!"

A flock of bird-lion hybrids, "gryphons", as Zoë had called them, were heading for the minivan. Even a skilled archer wouldn't be able to fire several arrows at once. With that much, Zoë wouldn't be able to shoot them all.

I retreated back to the boundary line as fast as I could. Without wasting a second, I dove into the water-filled trench. I summoned all the power I could muster to launch myself in a pillar of water 50-feet upward. I prayed to every god I could think of along the way.

Once I've reached the peak, I thrust Riptide towards the sky.

_Here goes nothing._

I felt a tugging sensation in my gut, and the weather responded to my will. The clouds above me descended. The rain vapor around me were absorbed. Taking the shape of a funnel, the ground and the heavens connected. I had conjured a watersprout.

It only lasted a minute, but it was more than enough. Since the water below came from the trench, I couldn't move forward. Instead, they moved towards me. The monsters below were too close and got swallowed by the vortex . The gryphons, along with the storm spirits, were totally annihilated in the air. By the time it was over, monter dust rained everywhere. Only a quarter of their army remained.

Nothing says 'defeat' like the obliteration of half your manpower in sixty seconds. Only about twenty monsters were left, all of them discouraged. Well, all except for one.

"Splendid, Percy Jackson." Perses, who had been observing the battle until now, swung his blade around."I will enjoy killing you,"

I rolled my eyes, "Tell me something new."

He charged at me. His sword was almost as huge as I am, but he carried it like it weighed nothing. Lava dripped and fell on his body multiple times. It doesn't affect him. He didn't even flinch. He swung his sword in a deadly arc. I dodged. I tried to counterattack, but it was parried effortlessly. Our swords clashed simultaneously. Whenever an opening presents itself, an arrow or two would find its way in Perses's body. That helped slow him down a little. The lava on his blade burned me multiple times. I was able to endure it thanks to my heat resistance as a son of Poseidon, but that doesn't mean I don't feel the pain. The rain had already ended. My strength is waning. That little stunt I pulled earlier had drained my energy. We'd have to finish this soon, or else...

Unfortunately, I was too late. Perses had found an opportunity to strike, and it was too quick for me to react. He performed a disarming technique I haven't seen before. In a matter of seconds, Riptide fell off my hand. Perses kicked me hard in the stomach, sending me flying past the trench and skidding a few meters across the muddy ground. Every muscle in my body hurt so much, I almost passed out in pain. I opened my eyes to find Zoë kneeling over me. Her expression was blank, but her eyes regarded me with concern. As if she was genuinely worried about me. For a moment, I thought she actually looked pretty cute.

I tried to say _I'm alright_, but breathing alone sends immense pain in my chest.

"Don't speak," Zoë said, "your lungs are most likely stabbed by a broken rib." _That sounds pretty bad_, I thought. Instead of talking, I just pointed a finger at the nearest hospital. Zoë looked like she understood what I meant. She put my arm around her shoulder and dragged me to the trench. Fortunately, it hadn't dried up yet. The pain made me forget that I was still clinging to Zoë, so we both fell when I hauled myself to the water. Strange. I could feel my injuries healing, but I still can't breathe.

Then I realized Zoë had been strangling me.

"Stop... please... I'm sorry..." I struggled for about half a minute, until Zoë finally let go.

It took another 30 seconds for Zoë to accept my apologies. (1 'sorry' per second, in a total of 30) Usually it would take longer, but we're sort of going to be killed shortly, so she just gave me a look that said '_I'll get you for this later_'.

I looked up the sky. The gray clouds are still pretty thick, but you could catch a glimpse of the sun every now and then. An idea hit me as soon as the first direct ray of sunlight reached my eyes. I relayed my plan to Zoë, who was pretty reluctant about it at first.

"Your strategy is too vague," she said, "and dangerous."

"Trust me, it'll work."

"No."

But in the end, she agreed.

I heard the sound of footsteps. It was still pretty far, but Perses would reach us soon enough. Zoë and I climbed out of the trench, on different sides.

"Time for round two," I said.

I looked up the sky again. We'd still need a few more minutes to improve our chances of winning. I decided to chat with him a little to buy some time.

"Who sent you?"

"Right off the bat, huh?" Perses said, "Sorry kid, but I'm not stupid enough to answer that."

"Then, answer this one: Who's this 'Brother' of yours?"

That question caught Perses off-guard. "How did you..?"

"Sorry man, but I'm not stupid enough to answer that."

"Very funny," Perses said, "now let me hurry up and kill you."

Oops.

The idea of buying time backfired. Perses walked hurriedly towards me, dragging his sword across the ground. The lava on it had already disappeared, which was a good thing. You see, Annabeth had told me before that a god's symbol of power reflects his current state. Looks like it's the same for beings like our friend Perses here.

Zoë and I exchanged glances, and a silent agreement passed between us. I looked around for monsters, only to find that there were none left. Zoë had killed them all, and she did that while supporting me at the same time. Man-hating issues aside, this girl kicks some serious booty.

The weight on my pocket tells me that Riptide had already returned. I took it out, still in its pen form, and concealed it in my hand. I whispered a quick prayer to Apollo, who probably knew about this right from the start. I walked towards Perses seemingly empty-handed, and got the reaction I expected.

"I don't blame you." Perses bragged, "Even the most valiant warriors who have fought me lost their will to fight."

"I wonder about that," I said. When he came close enough, I shouted.

"Now!" I suddenly uncapped Riptide. Then, as if on cue, the clouds above me forcibly parted and a ray of sunlight directed to my sword which reflection hit Perses right in the eyes, blinding him for a split second. Zoë heard the signal and fired three arrows at once. I swung Riptide on an arc and he deflected it with his sword. The silver arrows sprouted on his chest, and his grip weakened, causing the sword to fly out of his hands. I used the opportunity and stabbed Riptide in his stomach. Perses howled in pain, but I wasn't done yet. I thrust my left hand towards the sky, and my package came - a golden arrow exclusively from the sun god. Turns out it wasn't just an arrow. I pulled Riptide back and placed the arrow in its stead. As soon as I did, the arrow let out a deafening roar like an electric guitar and exploded. Perses flew back a good twenty feet. If I recall correctly, Michael Yew had some in the Titan War. It's not that powerful, but if you get hit in point blank, it will surely _hurt_. How I was able to summon it, I had no idea.

Perses got back on his feet. I thought I didn't beat him down enough until I saw it - a huge gaping hole where his stomach previously had been. It was probably pretty painful, but Perses didn't run, cry or call for his momma. Instead, he just stood there, golden ichor dripping from all over his body. I could tell he wanted to say something, but not a word came out of his mouth. He simply went to pick up his sword and disappeared in a golden flash.

_My blessing_, Apollo's voice replayed in my mind. _You'll need it, kid_.

_Guess I did, Apollo_, I thought gratefully. _Guess I did_.


End file.
